Before the intriguing possibilities contained within Johnny Depp and Wally Pfister‘s collaboration on “Transcendence” come to fruition, there’s still the matter of the iconic actor’s more traditional roles: namely, that of the eccentric, whimsy-tinged adventurer on which he’s plied his trade for quite some time, and now is eyeing a return to in the near future for a director well-versed in the type.

Already taking on a producer role alongside his Infinitum Nihl label partner Christi Dembrowski, Depp is looking to possibly play the lead in Warner Bros. family fantasy “Mortimer Wintergreen,” loosely based off the 1987 novel written by Myron Levoy. Playwright and writer Jack Thorne (TV’s “Skins,” “Cast Offs”) will pen the film, which follows a brother/sister pair who encounter the titular traveling magician after running away from home, and “Nanny McPhee Returns” directorSusanna White is attached to direct.

Naturally, Depp would be playing the Wintergreen character, and Thorne’s take on the material is said to frame him as a con man who finds a magical hat, and subsequently finds himself chased by those who want it for evil. So familiar ground for all involved then (save for Thorne, whose work on British TV has made a solid offering), but we’ll see if Depp is able to construe something new from the YA material, or if his window with Quentin Tarantino opens up after all. [THR]